American Bar Association

News about American Bar Association, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Dec. 17, 2014

The 37,924 full- and part-time students who started classes this fall represent a 30 percent decline from just four years ago, when enrollment peaked at 52,488. MORE

Dec. 8, 2014

David Lat legal novel Supreme Ambitions is first book published by Ankerwycke, American Bar Association imprint aiming to market accessible nonfiction and fiction; Lat, former clerk on United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and longtime chronicler of the federal judiciary and the legal profession, brings insider's view to novel. MORE

May. 9, 2014

Letter from American Bar Association president James R Silkenat responds to May 4 Maya Sen Op-Ed article on need for reform in the process for evaluating federal judges. MORE

Feb. 19, 2014

Legal advocates for indigent clients in Missouri hope exhaustive American Bar Association analysis of time spent by public defenders and court-appointed lawyers on criminal cases will bolster budget requests for more staff and strengthen multiyear battle for change. MORE

Sep. 20, 2013

Task force of the American Bar Assn, faced with rising student debt and declining applications to law schools, is calling for sweeping changes in legal education, including training people without law degrees to provide limited legal services and opening bar to those who have not completed four years of college and three years of law school. MORE

Jun. 1, 2012

Op-Ed article by law Prof Brian Z Tamanaha contends the economics of legal education are broken, and that the federal loan system and the accreditation standards for law schools imposed by the American Bar Assn are largely to blame; offers suggestions for how to fix the system. MORE

Dec. 23, 2011

Duncan School of Law in Tennessee sues American Bar Association after being denied accreditation, accusing group of antitrust violations and of depriving the school of due process; ABA representatives say Duncan had admitted students that were unlikely to graduate; without accreditation, Duncan graduates will be prevented from practicing law in most areas of the country. MORE

Dec. 18, 2011

Many American law schools face problems in meeting stringent, and costly, American Bar Association rules, while also trying to be affordable to students; scholars say without standards, schools could cut their tuition significantly, and that the lack of affordable options helps explain why so many Americans do not hire lawyers. MORE

Nov. 23, 2011

American Bar Association has secretly declared significant number of Pres Obama's potential judicial nominees not qualified, slowing efforts to fill vacant Federal judgeships; nearly all the prospects given poor ratings are women or members of minority groups, frustrating Obama's longstanding goal of diversification. MORE